Julian stared at Alexis sitting on the bed in her slip looking at him expectedly for his reasons for walking out of her upcoming wedding to Shawn.

"I'm waiting Julian…better start talking and stop staring…"

Oh he could see the formidable attorney right now who took no prisoners, and she didn't look happy with him at all. He didn't blame her for that but that didn't mean she wouldn't listen to him.

But getting engaged to Shawn, top assassin to some of the top capos in that part of the country, that had been unfathomable to Julian when the news had finally reached him. He knew she was an adult and fully capable of making her own decisions and she could do that…after she heard some hard facts about her fiancé.

"Alexis …he's not who you think he is," he started.

She tilted her head and pushed her hair back.

"Neither were you…"

"Touché…but I'm serious. He's a man loyal to no one not even Sonny."

She narrowed her eyes.

"What does that mean? I know he was a mercenary for hire but he's been Sonny's right hand man since Jason…died.

He rubbed his jaw, thoughtfully. She didn't look at all receptive but she had to know before she made the biggest mistake in her life.

"I found out he's doing jobs for three different families in the East Coast…and hiding it from Sonny."

She frowned.

"That makes no sense…Sonny's like a brother to him."

Julian chuckled. He couldn't help it.

"It wouldn't be the first time brother turned against brother. Remember Cain and Abel?"

She shook her head.

"I don't believe you…it doesn't make any sense especially since Shawn promised he'd leave the life behind him."

"Was that why you agreed to marry him?"

She didn't answer.

"Keep going…I'm listening for now but time's not on your side here

"Alexis …"

"No Julian, I'm getting married in less than a couple hours and you'll be gone by then unless you come up with better material to argue..."

Julian thought back and considered that probably Shawn had really been dispatched back to L.A. to go after a target and somehow had sandwiched in a social life between his jobs in the past month. And had started a romance again with the woman in front of him. Okay, but neither had reached the altar yet. If he had his way at least one of them wouldn't show up.

"He was a pretty good looking sexy guy," she recalled, "and the man can dance and tell a great joke."

He could also kill and was willing to torture a man into confessing, Julian thought and she clearly didn't know that he had been keeping that skill fresh in his repertoire.

She arched her brows.

"You were saying?"

" Alexis …I don't know how to tell you this but he's not the businessman who takes frequent trips out of town to go to conferences like he probably told you…he's a…."

Suddenly a louder pair of footsteps approached the room and back Julian went into the closet. He kept the door just open enough to hear a little and see less but he did see the tall man with a muscular frame walk into the bedroom and greet Alexis by kissing her on the mouth, after wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her closer.

"Hi Alexis," he said, "I bet you thought I'd never make it back but you'd be wrong."

She smiled up at him.

"Oh Shawn, I knew you'd be here," she said, "Though I know how important your business is to you."

He caressed her hair out of her face.

"Not as important as you are and this day where we'll be joined together as man and wife."

Julian watched from the closet, and thought to himself, not if I have anything to say about it. The man fiddled with the straps on her slip as he kissed her much longer this time, drawing them down her arms.

"Shawn we can't…we're getting married."

His lips traveled down her neck and damn that did feel good but she had to know some things first.

"All the more reason…but you're right, the guests will be arriving soon and you have to get dressed and get yourself beautiful."

She nodded as he pulled away from her.

"Shawn, is there anything you need to tell me…before we get married," she said, "I mean Carly was just in here earlier again."

He sighed.

"You know she's been told by me to keep her distance until she can play nicely."

"I think she's just a worried about losing her close friend to a woman she doesn't like very well," Alexis reasoned, "We did get engaged pretty quickly and the wedding's even coming more quickly."

He tensed at those words, she could tell and he looked at her, his eyebrows lifting.

"Are you telling me you don't want to go through with the wedding?"

She shook her head and put her hands on his chest.

"Oh no…we just haven't talked about some of the things that couples normally discuss."

He kissed her to try to remove any remaining doubts and his lips spoke eloquently but then she remembered the man hiding in the closet…not to mention the pictures.

But right then a couple of other men came in the bedroom when they saw Shawn there and told him they needed to discuss a few things with him before the nuptials. Shawn looked at his bride one more time and then left with them. A moment after they left, Julian walked back into the bedroom.

She turned to look at him.

"That's Shawn in case you didn't know," she said, "I would have told him you were here but it looks like you didn't come through the front entrance."

"I did…just as part of the security detail."

She eyed him and his outfit critically.

"You look like a jewel thief," she said, "You're not planning on breaking into any safes are you?"

He looked around the room.

"So is this his room?"

She folded her arms.

"Oh don't even go there with me, okay?"

"Alexis, the man is a professional hit-man for hire and you know it."

"You're a mafia capo who kills to gain territory and further your…business organization. You kept who you really were a secret…playing everyone including me and my daughter…"

"Our daughter…"

She shrugged.

"Semantics mostly and a night of unprotected sex in the backseat of your car."

He didn't respond to that because she was right, he had made his choices and family hadn't been at the top of the list. He knew he hadn't chosen wisely.

She sat on the bed and sighed. But he pushed forward.

"We need to talk about Shawn…before you marry him. You know what I'm telling you is true or at least you have questions about him…"

"Maybe…"

"What does that mean?"

"I was wondering about that," she said, "I found some photos that he had hidden…I don't know why I even looked or what I was looking for…maybe I thought there was another woman."

"But they weren't?"

She shook her head.

Julian looked down at her, as she sat and contemplated what she had learned a mere few hours before her wedding.

"I don't know what to think Julian…he couldn't be a hired hit-man again for all these mobsters, wouldn't I just know that if he were doing something so evil?"

He didn't respond, not sure what to say to that.

"No scratch that, I ran around with another sociopathic killer a year ago didn't I? and then of course there's you…"

He sat down beside her on the bed, so their shoulders brushed. At least she didn't appear to be too angry with him to pull away, and he had been preparing for that on the winding drive up the mountain to the estate.

" Alexis …you fell in with the side of himself he showed you," Julian said, "In both cases…but Shawn, I know he's still a hired killer. He's done jobs all over the seaboard and even in other places, a dozen in the past two months...the last in Denver."

Her mouth opened.

"You mean…Shawn works for some mobsters in Denver?"

Julian nodded.

"A cabal of them actually," he said, "tied to the uneasy coalition of the top five remaining families on the seaboard."

She put her hand over her face.

"Oh my god…and here I thought I was getting better at picking men."

Julian heard a trace of pain in her voice buried amidst the anger and indignation and realized she had really cared about the guy, maybe more than that at some time. But if she thought he was going to stand by and watch her marry a man like Shawn, she had another thing coming. Because this thug in Armani made most guys look like choir boys and at any rate, there were three pending grand jury inquiries into the five families thanks to the work done by the feds so it would be a matter of time before Shawn and Alexis 's marriage would be reduced to jailhouse visits anyway. If Sonny had been smart he'd have severed ties with his number two.

"What am I going to do …I'm getting married today to this decent man or so I thought…what's the protocol for skipping out on your own wedding? Oh wait…I'm the expert on that."

He knit his brows.

"Ned…sometimes I think if I'd only married him…but so how would I get out of here? Without making a scene."

"I think we could sneak out the back exit of this mansion as I'm sure there is one before anyone notices…my car's just down the road."

She folded her arms looking at him.

"Oh you came prepared didn't you?"

He reached over and moved a tendril of hair hanging in her face.

"I came here hoping you'd come back with me…"

Then she stood up and just stared at him and some spark had been set off inside of her.

"Oh…nice…so you thought I'd trade him in for another model…like you…Forget it."

Julian felt taken aback, what in the hell was she talking about here?

"Alexis …"

She rubbed her forehead.

"Okay Julian…we'll talk about this later…"

"Alexis we've got to get you out of here," Julian said, "but not dressed like that. I think you better change."

She rolled her eyes at him.

"Okay…I'll see what's in the closet here…it's as big as my living room back home so I ought to find something I can wear out of here."

She went into the closet and found some jeans that appeared to fit and a black sweater and some boots. She didn't know who the clothes belonged to and she didn't ask, she dressed quickly inside the closet.

After she finished dressing, she walked out and Julian glanced over at her and did a double take. What she could do to even a casual outfit, well there weren't enough words but first things first and that was getting out of the mansion and off the estate so they could get back to his car.

She looked indecisive.

"I really should talk to him…explain that I just need some time to think it over."

He shook his head.

"And what if he doesn't like your answer or decides not to let you go," Julian said, "You've got to get out of here."

"Okay…then let's go then before my bridesmaids start looking for me."

He looked out the bedroom door and when he saw it was clear, he walked out into the hallway and she followed him quite closely. They heard some people talking and headed in the opposite direction towards a back staircase. Julian went first and she followed down the rather dark flight of stairs and realized they reached the area behind the kitchen. Caterers went to and fro with plates of food and Alexis gazed a bit longingly at some of the platters as they went by.

"Damn, there goes a chance to sample some of the best fettuccini ever made."

Julian looked around and saw an exit just in front of them and grabbing her hand he headed towards it.

"Excuse me, where are you going," a voice rang out behind them.

Julian stiffened and then turned around while Alexis put on a smile when they bumped into Carly who frowned at them.

"What's he doing here," she said and then her eyes lit up, "Hah I knew you two had something going behind the scenes. How dare you bring him into this house…like some common…"

Julian glanced at her.

"Carly…"

"Shut up Carly," Alexis said, "Julian your ex-lover has dropped by and he's merely extending his best wishes."

Carly folded her arms, her eyes aiming daggers at Alexis

"Julian had a good thing with me but he wasn't smart. I guess he's onto collecting scraps now.

Alexis paused having no time for this right now. She looked over at Julian.

"Nice to see you Carly…Alexis we'd better be having that pre-wedding talk while there's time."

Carly looked at bot of them strangely then and Alexis wondered then if they had said too much.

"Well, you're practically a eunuch so I don't think you'll keep Shawn happy for long," Carly said, "You try to insinuate yourself in the family again and they'll be trouble. Well Shawn might be not yet be wise to you but I am."

Alexis shrugged.

"Look whatever Carly, would you excuse us so Julian can congratulate me in a less hostile environment?"

Carly refused to move.

"I will not…"

Alexis sighed and looked directly at her.

"If you don't, I will tell my fiancé that you spent way too much time with that man who is his main business rival…in the swimming pool the other night. You know the artist formerly known as…"

Now Shawn's sister's face flushed an alarming shade of pink and Alexis knew she had hit her mark.

"He won't believe you," Carly hissed.

"He won't have to," Alexis said, "It will be enough if he just thinks about it."

Carly sputtered some more but the wind had gone out of her sails and she tottered off. Julian turned to Alexis.

"Boy you sure can play some hardball."

She shrugged a bit.

"And you've just started to notice?"

They walked to the door and opened it to find themselves out on the courtyard, surrounded by the four wings of the mansion that had as its centerpiece, a nice fountain surrounded by rose bushes.

"The gates are this way," Alexis said, walking to where sure enough there were double iron rod gates that were ajar.

"This way…"

Julian followed her as they crept through the labyrinth of hedges which were quite high and which led all the way to the gate.

Well, almost all the way.

Ahead they saw another man, his arms around an attractive young woman with auburn hair up in a tidy bun.

"Oh no, that's one of my bridesmaids…I think."

Julian frowned.

"You don't know your own bridesmaids?"

Alexis ran her hand through her hair.

"I didn't pick them Julian," she said, "Do you really think I wanted that woman back there to be in the wedding?"

"I suppose not…why would ever let anyone do that for you…"

"Later …if you want to get out of here without being seen…we'd better move quickly and get past them."

They walked nonchalantly as much so as possible considering they were making a getaway of sorts.

But before they got there, the man looked up and his piercing gaze caught the two of them. The woman looked miffed and stood to the side, folding her arms.

"Take care of them Dante…"

Oh yeah, Dante who was one of the ushers at the wedding worked closely with Shawn which meant…was the hell was PC's only real cop doing standing with a hired hit man at his wedding?

"Alexis what are you doing out here…and who's this man?"

She put on a smile and looked over at Julian, wondering how Dante had been fooled.

"He's security…I know it's kind of annoying to have a shadow following me around but Shawn put his foot down on this one."

Dante frowned, checking Julian out but the woman, Lulu looked skeptical.

"Wait a minute Dante," she said, "He's way too fine looking for Shawn to trust with his woman."

Alexis wanted to roll her eyes, his woman?

But Dante didn't look happy at all especially with his wife's backhanded compliment of the strange man in front of him.

"Lulu, what do you mean he's fine looking," he said, "You're attracted to this man here?"

She stammered, her eyes blinking seductively.

"Oh no darling…he could never come close to lighting my fire like you do…"

"That's better," Dante said, "as for Shawn, with all the pressure he's under, she might need an armed guard to protect her."

Alexis felt curiosity get the better of her.

"What do you mean 'pressure' Dante," she said, "Is Shawn not telling me everything that's going on?"

Dante looked sheepish.

"I said too much," he said, "Nothing for you to worry yourself about…so go back to getting ready for your wedding."

"I just have to say goodbye to him…I'll see you later Dante…"

Julian and Alexis started to leave when suddenly someone else called out.

"Wait a minute…"